Monday, June 20, 2016A Norwegian Journalist's Look at Church/State Separation in the U.S. Norwegian journalist Even Gran spent a year in the U.S. not too long ago and he used the opportunity to dive into our nation's problems with church/state separation. He spoke with a couple of the students I've written about extensively on this site -- Jessica Ahlquist and Damon Fowler -- and the result is his book Rise of the Seculars. MORE Buy the book HERE. 
Thousands of atheists gather in DC for 'Reason Rally'
Thousands of atheists turned out Saturday on a muggy Washington day to take part in "Reason Rally," dedicated to boosting the political power of the growing number of non-religious Americans.
MORE See also... 'Reason Rally' Highlights Non-Religious Voting Bloc An Atheist Singer Humiliated on Ecuador's Got Talent Found Redemption at the Reason Rally The Godless Descend on DC for The Reason Rally The Political Ascension of the Nonbelievers Rev. Graham to 'Reason Rally': Atheists Will Stand Before the God They Disown and May Face Eternity in Hell The Catholic League's Bill Donohue is Angry That "Good for Nothing" Atheists Are Gathering in D.C. Pictures from the event can be found HERE. A local recording of the event is below. The official video with all speakers and performers will be released later.
Southern Baptists lost 200,000 members over the past year
Membership in the Southern Baptist Convention declined by more than 200,000 from 2014 to 2015, down to 15.3 million members.
MORE See also... Evangelicals feel alienated, anxious And... Religious Right Is Losing Influence
Iowa Governor Steps Into A Tangled Web Of Church And State With Proclamation Encouraging Bible Study
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed a proclamation in April encouraging "all Iowans" to participate in a statewide Bible-reading marathon, but the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa argues the declaration is unconstitutional.
MORE See also... Iowa governor attempting to impose Christianity as state government's religion, say rights groups And... Humanist Group Condemns Iowa Governor's Proclamation Promoting Christian Scripture
Public Schools Across The Country Are Violating The Separation Of Church And State
A conservative Christian non-profit, Focus on the Family works to promote right-wing values in public policy, including gay conversion, intelligent design creationism, and opposition to certain types of birth control. According to their website, they provide "resources for couples to build healthy marriages that reflect God's design, and for parents to raise their children according to morals and values grounded in biblical principles." It's astonishing that the organization has somehow become a go-to resource on so many different topics for some public schools and even local governments, especially given the legal status quo which mandates the separation of church and state.
MORE
Catholic church accused of using 'mafia-like' tactics to fight sex abuse bill
Pennsylvania church accused of using 'mob boss approach' to pressure lawmakers who support bill giving victims of abuse more time to sue abusers.
MORE Earlier: Priest banned for molesting girl gets a new job as director of teen pregnancy center
Texas County with Crosses on Police Cars Will Pay Atheist Group More Than $22,000 in Settlement
Brewster County (Texas) Sheriff Ronny Dodson is one of the many, many government officials to put "In God We Trust" stickers on all the vehicles in his department. But rather than pretending it was just an act of patriotism and saying it's just our national motto, Dodson made clear this was all about promoting Christianity.
MORE
California Highway Patrol Officers Caught Proselytizing to Homeless People While On Duty
Police officers shouldn't be in the business of converting the very people they're trying to help. Churches may not see a difference between converting and protecting, but it's very obvious to those of us who reject religion.
MORE
LISA Pathfinder Reports Record-Breaking Gravitational Wave Results
The successful technology demonstration paves the way for detecting mergers of supermassive black holes with future space-based observatories.
MORE
8.8 billion habitable Earth-size planets exist in Milky Way alone
Astronomers using NASA data have calculated for the first time that in our galaxy alone, there are at least 8.8 billion stars with Earth-size planets in the habitable temperature zone.
MORE
Secularist Activists Are Being Murdered in Bangladesh: An Ongoing Crisis Causes Many to Flee
If you've seen any news headline on Bangladesh in Western media over the past 15 months, odds are strong the headline included the phrase "hacked to death": Writer hacked to death outside a book fair. Blogger hacked to death on his way to work. LGBT activists hacked to death in their apartment.
MORE See also: Bangladeshi Police Arrest More Than 3,000 People To Prevent Further Attacks on Atheists and Others
Monday, May 30, 2016Nonreligious Americans March to Capitol Hill Ahead of Historic Rally
Washington, DC - On June 2-3, more than three hundred nonreligious Americans will march to Capitol Hill. Hosted by the Secular Coalition for America, nontheist Americans from across the country will meet with members of Congress as part of the Reason Rally Advocacy Days.
Participants will lobby their representatives in support of the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act (REHYA), which would eliminate all federal funding for abstinence only education and reallocate the money to support evidence-based sex education. The Advocacy Days precede the Reason Rally on June 4th, when tens of thousands of nontheists will assemble on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to voice their support for science-based public policy and the separation of church and state. MORE
Proud Godlessness Grips Our Transportation System
The organization has a new advertising campaign on Metro trains, Bikeshare bikes, PTRC commuter buses, and garages that say "I'm an Atheist and I Vote" before the forthcoming Reason Rally at the Lincoln Memorial on June 4 and the D.C. Democratic Primary on June 14. The ads will run through June 6.
MORE
Women Are Leaving Church, And the Reason Seems Clear
Why have women stopped going to church? It isn’t because they're too busy or too well educated. Maybe they stopped going when conservative politics took over the pulpit.
MORE
University of Miami Establishes Chair for Study of Atheism
With an increasing number of Americans leaving religion behind, the University of Miami received a donation in late April from a wealthy atheist to endow what it says is the nation's first academic chair "for the study of atheism, humanism and secular ethics."
MORE
State-Mandated Mourning for Aborted Fetuses
A new Indiana law is part of a wave of legislation that requires burial or cremation following abortions. What's behind it?
MORE
Catholic church audit shows spike in sex abuse reports
The audit, released on Friday, showed that 838 people came forward from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015, to say they had been sexually abused by priests, deacons or members of religions orders while they were children, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said.
MORE
Republican Prayed Gays Are 'Worthy of Death' Before Vote on Bill With LGBT Protections Amendment
GOP Congressman Led Weekly Meeting Quoting Anti-Gay Bible Passages – No Apologies From Any Republican.
MORE
In Oregon, Three Non-Religious Candidates Won Their Primaries for the State House
The candidates received endorsements from the Freethought Equality Fund last month after coming out publicly as non-religious.
MORE
Despite What the Media Says, Going to Church Doesn't Necessarily Lead to a Longer Life
Saying that the answer to longer life is church attendance falls far outside the scope of this study's findings, and it's not an honest summary of the data it presents.
MORE
People of no religion outnumber Christians in England and Wales – studyProportion of population who identify as having no religion rose from 25% in 2011 to 48.5% in 2014, surveys show. MORE
Sunday, May 15, 2016Religion Declining, Secularism Surging
An ongoing spate of recent studies - looking at various countries around the world - all show the same thing: religion is in decline. From Scandinavia to South America, and from Vancouver to Seoul, the world is experiencing an unprecedented wave of secularization. Indeed, as a recent National Geographic report confirms, the world's newest religion is: No Religion.
MORE
Major atheist rally scheduled in D.C.
Thousands of atheists and their allies are expected to converge on Washington, D.C., next month for a "Reason Rally." The first Reason Rally, held in D.C. in 2012, attracted about 20,000 people in the rain, according to organizers.
MORE
Study Calls On Obama to Withdraw Legal Memo That Allows Faith-based Charities to Discriminate
The paper published by Columbia University is signed by a coalition of 15 prominent legal scholars across the country.
MORE
The Other Shoe Drops: North Carolina and Mississippi Both Face Federal Lawsuits for Anti-LGBT Laws
"No matter how isolated, how afraid, and no matter how alone you may feel today, note this -- the Department of Justice and indeed the entire Obama Administration want you to know: we see you, we stand with you, and we will do everything we can to support you going forward."
MORE
Tom DeLay: People keep forgetting that God 'wrote the Constitution'
"I think we got off the track when we allowed our government to become a secular government," DeLay explained. "When we stopped realizing that God created this nation, that he wrote the Constitution, that it's based on biblical principles."
MORE
Sunday, May 08, 2016Recent News Highlights
Americans Growing-Up Without Religion Tend To Be Less Authoritarian And More Compassionate
Here's What Being Good Without God Actually Means Hacked to death for unbelief: The rise of atheist persecution See also... A map of countries where you can be killed for being an atheist Promoting abstinence, fidelity for HIV prevention is ineffective As the Religious Right Forces the Gospel Into Public Schools, Some Parents Are Opting to Homeschool Arkansas school planning to bus students to a local church during school hours for National Day of Prayer Salvation Army Cancels Conference Promoting Child Marriage North Carolina says it will defy Justice Department over LGBT law: 'We're not going to get bullied' See also: US Justice Department: HB2 violates federal Civil Rights Act Anti-LGBT Activists 'Testing' Target By Sending Men Into Women's Rooms And... Bible-Bearing Anti-LGBT 'Christians' are Entering Target Stores and Terrorizing Customers Congressional Republicans Attach North Carolina-Style Discrimination To Defense Budget Ex-priest gets 20-40 years in prison for sexual assault Judicial Tyrant Roy Moore Is Suspended For His Obstruction of Alabama Same-Sex Marriage Licenses Here Are Aerial Images of Ken Ham's Ark Under Construction. Notice Anything Un-Biblical? 0.0% of Icelanders 25 years or younger believe God created the world, new poll reveals Sean Carroll on the universe, naturalism and finding meaning without God What Neuroscience Says about Free Will
Saturday, April 30, 2016Our New Freethought Action Hero!!!
Earlier today, Lisa Pedersen was presented with the FREETHOUGHT ACTION HERO AWARD at the 7th Annual Orange County Freethought Alliance Conference.
 Lisa Pedersen Lisa Pedersen is an ambassador, educator, advocate, and a humanist. She is a co-founder and former board member with the secular non-profit organization Friends of Freethought. She also founded the Women's Secular Group of Southern California, which hosts an Adopt-A-Family outreach within secular communities. She raises awareness and educates the public on matters such as morality, the history of freethinkers, and activism. She does this in person and online, helping people access reference materials. She attends outreaches to educate the public as an example of what an atheist and humanist is. Lisa is also involved in many community service projects, raises money for orphanages, helps orphans and homeless children to receive free dental care, and in two years raised over $25,000 for Project Hope. Lisa Pedersen became the fourth person to be presented with this award. To see more about previous award winners, click HERE.
Christians to flock to massive atheist rally in D.C.
Call it resistance with love. A massive gathering of atheists taking place in Washington, D.C., will now face some concerted counterpointing, thanks to the rally call of one church in California for those of Christian faith to travel to the freethinkers' scene to try and change hearts.
MORE: http://www.wnd.com/2016/04/christians-flock-to-massive-atheist-rally-in-d-c/ The Reason Rally is coming soon! June 4, 2016 Visit the site here: http://reasonrally.org/
Friday, April 29, 2016A Norwegian Would
You may recall the NC statewide "One Nation Indivisible" billboard campaign FreeThoughtAction organized over the 4th of July holiday in
2010, with six billboards in six cities from the mountains to the sea….
Several months ago, I was contacted by journalist Even Gran
from the Norwegian Humanist Association. He asked to use one of the pictures I
had taken of the billboard on the Billy Graham Parkway for the cover of his new
book about American secularism. I said "Yes!"
Well, the book is out now. Even kindly sent me a signed copy.
Here's what it looks like…
It is currently only available in Norwegian HERE.
He says it will soon be out in an English version.
While I’m on the subject…
National Day Of Reason Is Coming Up Soon!
A consortium of leaders from within the community of reason endorsed the idea of a National Day of Reason. This observance is held in parallel with the National Day of Prayer, on the first Thursday in May each year.
This year it's coming up on May 5, 2016. Visit the website for the National Day of Reason where you can endorse reason, send a proclamation, sign a petition, find out about events and government actions, and learn more about it. You might even consider organizing your own event! SEE: http://nationaldayofreason.org/
More News...
Missouri 'Religious Freedom' Bill Defeated In House Committee Vote
Ted Cruz Under Fire Over Adviser Who Wants Abortion Providers To Be Executed 26 states urge appeals court to uphold Md. cross ruling Lafayette schools to rethink Pledge of Allegiance policy Defying "In God We Trust" Trend, Arkansas Police Department Puts "We the People" On All Vehicles Lawmaker introduces resolution extolling reason Congressman Wants A 'National Day Of Reason' As Atheist Alternative To Day Of Prayer Two Lawmakers Want National Day of Reason as Alternative to National Day of Prayer
Thursday, April 28, 2016Some Highlights From This Week's News
Jamie Raskin, An Openly Humanist U.S. House Candidate from Maryland, Just Won His Primary
Tennessee Repeals Protections For Faith Healing Parents Action Alert in Idaho! Tell lawmakers to repeal religious exemptions for child neglect Court smacks down Kansas Christians for labeling evolution a religion to force school ban Republican condemns 'wicked' Alabama citizens with apocalyptic National Day of Prayer resolution It's About To Be Legal For Tennessee Counselors to Deny Mental Health Services Based On Religion Georgia GOP Approves $2 Million for Anti-Choice Pregnancy Centers Abortion doctors would lose medical licenses under new Oklahoma bill Alabama town passes ordinance to jail trans people caught using the bathroom in Target Kentucky approves Ark Encounter for up to $18 million in tax incentives Public Schools Are Visiting Ken Ham's Creation Museum The Vatican Just Put a Convicted Rapist Back in a Parish Woman Causes 10 Car Pileup After Seeing Jesus In Her Kit Kat Candy Bar
Friday, April 22, 2016This Week...
The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion
Ignorance is Bliss: Why Religious People Seem Happier Than the "Nones" Sex Abuse and the Catholic Church: Why Is It Still a Story? Tennessee Lawmakers Lose Bid to Make Bible the Official State Book Bladensburg Cross Excludes Non-Christian Veterans, Says Humanist Group to Appeals Court Church Protection Act Threatens Safety and Secularism This Woman Has Been Allowed to Run at Least 12 Horrifying Daycares Because of a Crazy Loophole The Horrors of Alabama's Unregulated Religious Daycares Calif. school district bans atheist scholarships — but allows them from Scientology Foundation Beyond Belief Responds to Ecuador Earthquake
Thursday, April 21, 2016Catching Up On Old News...
Atheists & Atheism
Poll Finds Americans, Especially Millennials, Moving Away From Religion As Usual, Survey Shows Religion in Decline, Especially Among Millennials Why more people call themselves 'Nones' 7 Facts About Atheists U.S. Demographics Shift: White Christians No Longer The Majority Survey Shows That Atheism is Still a Political Liability, but Not As Much as Before Nonreligious voters present a puzzle for political parties (ANALYSIS) Disbelieve it or not, ancient history suggests that atheism is as natural to humans as religion Atheists Outnumber Southern Baptists in US Military Report Says Britain is No Longer a Christian Nation and Must Reflect That In Its Policies Also: Poll: widespread indifference to Christian beliefs, but Christians feel comfortable discussing their faith [UK] The Negative Association between Religiousness and Children's Altruism across the World Teacher Sued After Punishing Second-Grader for Being an Atheist Church & State Unbelief As A Belief System: Core Tenet For Christians' Fight For Religious Rights The 8 Most Terrifying Threats to Separation of Church and State Religion Research Suggests Jesus Never Existed Study Suggests Bible Could Be Based On Popular Fairy Tales Religion has been causing conflict for over 2,000 years, say scientists and Anthropologists say religious ties did not bind early societies together as had previously been thought Related: Holy Horrors: Religious slaughter through the centuries Religious children are meaner than their secular counterparts, study finds and Religious kids are harsher and less generous than atheist ones, study says How the Fear of Death Strengthens Christian Nationalism (and Leads to More Crime) Christian terrorism is a bigger threat to U.S. freedom than Islamic extremism Christian group conducts study, finds out that Christians have the most abortions The Catholic Church Has Paid Out $3,994,797,060.10 as a Result of the Sex Abuse Scandals Little Boy Who Claimed to Die and Visit Heaven Admits He Made It Up The Satanic Temple's Seven Tenets Are Far More Ethical Than the Ten Commandments Education Alabama's Abstinence-Only Sex Education Classes Are Hurting Students Across the State Creationist Selected To Lead Arizona Senate Education Panel Science Bringing time and space together for universal symmetry Equation shows that large-scale conspiracies would quickly reveal themselves Acceptance Of Profound-Sounding "Bullsh*t" Linked To Lower Intelligence We're the Only Animals With Chins, and No One Knows Why Sean Carroll On Six Arguments Used by Science Denialists Forget What the Science-Deniers Say; Evolution Really Can Be Observed Evolution of Creationism And if you're bored... If The Moon Were Only A Pixel - A Tediously Accurate Scale Model of the Solar System
Thursday, April 14, 2016"Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence" Carl Sagan is credited with the popular skeptical phrase, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” or, later, “Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence.” At or about the same time (probably slightly later than Sagan), founding Skeptical Inquirer editor Marcello Truzzi is on record using the phrase, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.” All three of these variations of this concept are still currently in circulation.
Tracing this thought back in
time, we find American magician and skeptic Joseph F. Rinn expressing this idea
in a 1911 Washington Post article debunking psychics. His version was
“Wonderful phenomena demand wonderful evidence in their support.” Skipping back
a little further we find French scholar Pierre-Simon Laplace considering this
concept in some detail. In 1814, he argued that “the more extraordinary the
event, the greater the need of its being supported by strong proofs,” and “the
probability of the falsehood increases in the measure that the deed becomes
more extraordinary,” and “the probability of the error or of the falsehood of
the witness becomes as much greater as the fact attested is more
extraordinary.” Taking it a little further, he said, “There are things so
extraordinary that nothing can balance their improbability.”
Thomas Jefferson’s
formulation of this concept predates Laplace by six years where he suggests
that extraordinary claims’ “verity needs proofs proportioned to their
difficulty” in 1808….
“A thousand phenomena present
themselves daily which we cannot explain, but where facts are suggested,
bearing no analogy with the laws of nature as yet known to us, their verity
needs proofs proportioned to their difficulty. A cautious mind will weigh well
the opposition of the phenomenon to everything hitherto observed, the strength
of the testimony by which it is supported, and the errors and misconceptions to
which even our senses are liable.”
We can trace this idea back
one step further to Scottish philosopher David Hume. His formulation of the
idea in 1739 was “A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the
evidence.” Expanding a bit, he said, “Suppose, for instance, that the fact,
which the testimony endeavours to establish, partakes of the extraordinary and
the marvellous; in that case, the evidence, resulting from the testimony,
admits of a diminution, greater or less, in proportion as the fact is more or
less unusual,” and “Such an event, therefore, may be denominated extraordinary,
and requires a pretty strong testimony, to render it credible…”
He also said, "When any one tells me, that he saw a dead man restored to life, I immediately consider with myself, whether it be more probable, that this person should either deceive or be deceived, or that the fact, which he relates, should really have happened. I weigh the one miracle against the other; and according to the superiority, which I discover, I pronounce my decision, and always reject the greater miracle."
For some time I wasn’t able
to trace the formulation of this idea any further back. I’ve now run across the
concept expressed by Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) as “[I]t is far
more probable that our senses should deceive us, than that an old woman should
be carried up a chimney on a broom stick; and that it is far less astonishing
that witnesses should lie, than that witches should perform the acts that were
alleged.”
The phrase, “Extraordinary
claims require extraordinary evidence” has become very popular in the
freethought and skeptic communities where it can be found on everything from
bumper-stickers to tee-shirts. A waitress in a restaurant once approached a freethinker wearing a tee-shirt with the phrase imprinted. She commented, “You
must work for an insurance company,” which brought much laughter to everyone at
the table.
“Extraordinary claims require
extraordinary evidence” is more than just a good policy for insurance
companies. It is a most useful idea to employ when assessing any extraordinary
claims, and it is an essential aspect of critical thinking.
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